Mission
Boston Children’s Museum exists to help children understand and enjoy the world in which they live.  It is a private, non-profit, educational institution that is recognized internationally as a research and development center and pacesetter for children's exhibitions, educational programs and curriculum.  Boston Children’s Museum incorporates two strategies – engaging families and building communities – to impact five outcome areas for children: Creative Kids, Curious Kids, Global Kids, Green Kids and Healthy Kids.

History
Founded by science teachers from Boston Public Schools in 1913, Boston Children’s Museum is the second oldest children’s museum in the United States.  The museum first opened at Pine Bank on Jamaica Pond in Boston’s Jamaica Plain neighborhood.  It moved to the former Morse/Milton estate on the Jamaicaway in Jamaica Plain in 1936.

In 1979 Boston Children’s Museum moved to an empty wool warehouse on the Fort Point Channel in order to gain more space and become more accessible to people in Boston.

In April 2006, the museum broke ground on a $47-million expansion and renovation project and closed for four months at the beginning of 2007 to complete the project.  The project added a 23,000-square-foot (2,100 m2), glass-walled enclosure to the front of the museum, a new theater, new exhibits, and a newly landscaped park.  It reopened on April 14, 2007.

Museum Facts

• Second oldest children’s museum in the United States
• First “green” museum in Boston.
• Over 50,000 items in the museum’s collections
• The Japanese House, or Kyo No Machiya, was donated to the museum by Kyoto, Boston’s Japanese sister city in 1980.
• The Hood Milk Bottle is 40 feet tall and 18 feet in diameter.  If it were a real milk bottle, it would hold 50,000 gallons of milk. Originally located in Taunton, Massachusetts, the bottle moved to the museum in 1977.

Green Building
Boston Children’s Museum has made a major commitment to green design and has integrated the following elements that have qualified the museum for the US Building Council’s Gold LEEDâ certification:

• Three green roofs – 2nd floor green roof was planted by museum staff and visitors, June 2007
• Storm water reclamation to reduce run-off into Fort Point Channel
• New infrastructure and fixtures to increase building efficiency
• Recycled, local, and low-emitting building materials

President/CEO 

Location

Size
 

Annual On-Site Attendance

Membership

Dr. Louis B. Casagrande

300 Congress Street, Boston, MA 02210
Phone: (617) 426-6500
Fax:  (617) 426-1944
www.bostonchildrensmuseum.org

105,000 square feet (museum)
175,000 square feet (entire building)

500,000+ visitors

10,000+ member households
ACM Family Membership:  $125
ACM Family Plus Membership:  $250
Full Library Discount Membership:  $675
Half Library Discount Membership:  $335

Public Hours
 

Admission Prices

Monday – Thursday, Weekends
Friday

Adults (16-64)
Ages 2-15 & senior citizens
1 year olds
Infants under 1 and members
Fridays 5pm-9pm

10am– 5pm
10am– 9pm

$10
$8
$2
FREE
$1 per person

Education Programs
Boston Children's Museum programs align with Massachusetts State Learning Standards in art, science, social studies and more. School groups can explore relevant exhibit space with hands-on activities that teachers can discuss in their classrooms before and after their visits.

Special Event Facilities
The museum hosts birthday parties, meetings, corporate events, holiday parties, and weddings.